This is the new look LATEST NEWS page. Have you missed a month of news, want to see what happened, well now you can, all you have to do is click on the relevant month and HEY PRESTO.

JUNE 2008   MAY 2008   APRIL  2008   MARCH 2008  FEBRUARY 2008  JANUARY 2008
DECEMBER 2007  NOVEMBER 2007  OCTOBER 2007  SEPTEMBER 2007  AUGUST 2007 
JULY 2007  JUNE 2007  MAY 2007  APRIL 2007

 

June 2008

HI all, sorry it's a bit late this month for my quick review of June, but we've been on the road for 11 consecutive days up to and including 6th July, so my review will be up to the 6th July. The 11 days on the road were mainly holiday parks, well Haven to be more precise, and it's fair to say all the band have different views on these places. I personally don't mind the odd one or two together but over a week of them sends me and a few of the others over the edge, needless to say I hope I don't see another caravan for a while. The gigs were ok but you just seem to get one hassle after another when you arrive at each park. I wont bore you with the details of each gig, but just to say the best one was Allhallows Park in Kent, simply because it was the best crowd and the last park of the tour. After the Allhallows gig we had to nip down to Bognor to do an adult show, I think it was called 'A hot Summers Party', now the last thing you need on your last night of 11 days away from home is to be going on stage at 12.30. It was nearly 1am when we finally got on. Things were running late and we were on after David Guest, yes David Guest, now what's that all about, does he really knees the cash that much. He basically just did a bit of DJ-ing on stage and invited about 40 people on stage to play some games. Needless to say I sat in the dressing room and put my earphones on and listened to some music.
We did a Town Regatta in Marlow in June at the side of the River Thames with a Commitments Tribute Band who were enjoyable, in fact the whole afternoon was very pleasant.
A couple of clubs worth a mention are Wickersley Social in Rotherham and Maltby Progressive which we hadn't played for 10 years or more and the gig was cracking.
Forgot to mention my holiday in Lloret de Mar at the start of the month, again I won't go into detail because it upsets me, let's just say it was the holiday from hell and I won't be going back.
Anyway I'm off now to try and catch up on 11 days sleep that I haven't had.
Just one more thing, Derek's op on his knee hasn't gone too well and is worse than ever so we might have to get in a stand in guitar player if he has to go under the knife again.
Thanks for reading,
See you soon
Mark
 

MAY 2008

Hi Maddies and Maddetts and welcome once again to my monthly review. I'm writing this on our way to our last gig of the month at the Shildon  Civic hall in County Durham and if its worth writing about I will give it a  mention in my next review. We've finished for a fortnight after the Shildon  gig and as much as we enjoy performing, the break can't come soon enough cos  to be honest I think we are all a bit burnt out to say the least. I think  there is only me and Dan going away this time, me to Lloret de Mar and Dan  to Alicante. Derek's having a similar operation on his knee as I had last  year, and hopefully that will go well and he will be ready again after the  break .

First gig of May was at the gorgeous Warner hotel Sinagh Warren on Hayling  Island near Portsmouth, which is normally a more, well very more mature  audience but this time was very mixed and was really well received, the only  downside was that we couldn't get any accommodation cos it was full to the  rafters, so we had to go second class at the local Travelodge. We did a few holiday parks in May, two for Haven Holidays at Coombe Haven nr  Hastings, and Hopton on sea nr Great Yarmouth. The other one was a private  park called Hoburne Naish in Dorset which was fab, everything was spotless  and the accommodation was like being at home, So we hope to go back there  soon.

Another private park we did was Great Bentley near Clacton on Sea, a smaller  park, our third visit, and one of our favourites because we get looked after  and the gig is always intimate but well received and it is an adult venue. Scallywags near Skegness is always enjoyable but always a long night having  to get there at 5pm and not going on till 11pm which is quite late when  there's kids in and half of them are asleep before we even go on stage. Probably the best gig of the month was a place called the Qube which is  about two miles from where we live. Its a very difficult room to play  because of the shape and the sound can be very hard to get right, but a hell  of a lot of people turned up and made it a great 70 minutes on stage. Well that's it for now, we're all off to have our well deserved break and  hopefully get fresh for our return on the 11th of June at Rotherham. Once  again thanks for all the messages of support.

C U MARK . XX
 

APRIL 2008

Hello everyone and welcome to my small token review of April. Have to start with out Theatre show 'Ska Insania' which took place at the Thameside Theatre in Grays, Essex. Well we finally managed to completely sell out a theatre after quite a few years and the atmosphere was relaxed and amazing and the reviews and messages we have received have been very heart warming indeed; so thanks to everyone who attended the show that evening and making it special.
Another highlight of April had to be the Gold weekender at Vauxhall Holiday Park where we were privileged to be on the same bill as the Blockheads obviously without the late great Ian Dury but the guy who replaced Mr. Dury was very good indeed and the quality of the Blockheads were fantastic, even though they weren't everyone's cup of tea. The musicianship of the guys was second to non although it was hard work trying to have a conversation with them after their show.
Did Butlins every Tuesday in April, 3 at Bognor and 1 at Skeggness, all for families but were very enjoyable indeed. We did our regular stint for the Motor Cycle News adult break at skeggness, normally a bit more reserved than an ordinary adult break but well up for it this time and I enjoyed listening to the Blondie Tribute, Heart of Glass just before we went on stage.
We did 3 WMC in April one of which we put on ourselves at the Moorthorpe Rec Club in my little village of South Elmsall and once again a nice turnout and it's not too often I get the chance to walk to and from work, and was in bed by 12.30am, fantastic.
The other 2 clubs were Scraptoft Valley near Leicester which is really struggling at the moment, like a lot of clubs I suppose and it would be a damn shame if it were to close cos it's a massive live venue, but at least the 250 people who were there enjoyed it. East Bowling Unity Club was the other venue in Bradford, only a small club but a cracking atmosphere once again and superbly backed up by Comedienne Chrissy Coles.
I'm getting a bit down now cos it's been nearly 6 months since I saw the mighty DAMNED in concert and still no new tour dates to look forward to and I can't seem to get into any of these new bands as an alternative, oh well might have to start getting into Westlife or summat (now you know I taking the p***).

See ya soon
Mark
 

MARCH 2008

Hi everyone, hope you are well and thanks for reading my short review of March. We had two cracking gigs to start the month off, firstly at the leisure centre in Spennymoor which is a massive venue and it was nice to see it three quarters full with everyone having a bouncing time. We are trying to organize something at the Town Hall in Spennymoor for later on in the year if we can get passed all the red tape that's involved.
The day after Spennymoor we made the journey all the way to Skegness for a 70's break for a gig that I thought would be quite tame compared to an 80's break, but I was wrong. The audience was probably a little bit older but the atmosphere was just as good. Although there were one or two people wondering why a Madness tribute were playing at a 70's break so I had to give them a small musical history lesson. We have now been invited back to Skeggy to do another 70's break in November.
The week after we made the long journey to the Isle of Wight to do an 80's weekend at Bembridge coast Warner hotel. Never a rowdy place but very relaxed and enjoyable with the highlight being listening to Derek (guitarist) and Dan (sax player) singing 'Don't let the sun go down on me' in the karaoke bar after the show. They sounded like a pack of wolves and we have it on our mobiles to prove it!!
The next day we travelled up to Tewkesbury to do our Theatre show at The Roses Theatre and everything went off very smoothly to say we only do the show every now and then and don't rehearse it between shows. It was nice to see a few old mates there as well who used to live in our village but have since moved away.
We did an 80's break at Minehead on the 14th in the smaller venue (Reds) which I'm not sure was the best idea because you couldn't breath and I was physically sick after the show because of the lack of oxygen and nothing to do with the six pints I had later on (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)
The rest of the month was family breaks at Butlins Bognor, Minehead and Skeggy which are always enjoyable with the families getting the chance to watch the show. Did two nights at Stanningly Rugby Club in Leeds, one for the club and one private gig a 50th birthday party both packed and very enjoyable and nice and local and in bed before 2 o'clock for a change.
The last gig of March was at Thorseby Hall Hotel (Warners) for another 80's weekend although the only other 80's act was Sonia on the Saturday while we were there on the Sunday. A very much older audience but we can turn on our cheesy side when the need arises. I know I keep saying this but thanks for all the messages on the guestbook and we do read everyone of them and it means so much.
Thanks and I will speak next month
Mark .xxx
 

FEBRUARY 2008

Hi everyone and thanks for tuning into my little review of February.
A lot of Butlins gigs this month due to the half term break, mainly at Bognor (thinking of buying a flat down there to save on diesel costs), and even managed to do a couple of our Theatre shows there because they have the facilities we need to do the show and thoroughly enjoyable they were too. Did 2 adult breaks at Butlins one a Skegness and the other at Bognor, the one at Skeggy was amazing once again. It was an 80's weekend and the atmosphere was pumping, condensation dripping off the stage roof tells you how hot it was in that place, 2000 people jumping their arses off and it took me about 3 hours to come down off the ceiling too.
We hired the Sheffield Boardwalk again and did a double header with our ex bass players band the 'Buzztones'. Thanks to all the 200 plus people who paid your money and hope you enjoyed it as much as we did, and who knows we might organise one again early next year.
Did 3 cracking Clubs this month too. Featherstone WMC who have got some great shows on in the following months and what a nice cosy concert room. Blackhill Commrades in Co Durham was a great gig and we are back there in December; but probably the best was Mainline SC in Leeds, again a sell out and everyone was well up for it.
People say do you ever have bad gigs? Well yeah we do from time to time, CRC Maidenhead was one of them, it's hard to get yourself motivated in front of 15 people in a place that holds probably 1000, but that was the only one in a really good Feb.
 
Thanks for reading and see you soon
Mark

JANUARY 2008
Hi everyone and welcome to a quick review of January, I'm actually writing this just before the Rotherham Civic gig so I will do that review at the end of Feb, but looking at the number of tickets sold it should be a good one.
Normally January tends to be a bit slow, that's why we always take the first week off and then the places we do play are usually fairly quiet affairs but this year it's been totally different, and I'm not just saying this but there hasn't been a bad or quiet one. The pick of the month has to be the Wyvern Theatre in Swindon, this being the third time we've visited the lovely theatre and this one easily the best in the terms of the audience really up for it, and to be honest I was still buzzing for quite a while even after the show.
A lot of clubs in January for a change and there wasn't even one I could really have a moan at (which makes a change for me I know). Low Moor Club in Bradford was a first for us and a cracker it was so early in January, we will be back there in September if you missed that one. Birdwell Club in Barnsley has always been known as a bit of a rock club so I was surprised when that one came in, but as most things in my life it surprised me with the audience really into it, and once again booked back in November.
The other Clubs in January were Wickersley in Rotherham, Lane Top in Sheffield, Crookes in Sheffield and The Railway Club in Leeds and honestly were really pleasant gigs.
I have to say a special mention to a club just round the corner from us and that being Mill Lane WMC in South Kirkby which we decided to organize ourselves cos it's no secret that the place has been struggling for a year or so. The Club paid us a small fee and we put a small cover charge on the door to make the money up. I think it's fair to say all the band were amazed how many people showed up and was really touched at the local support we received, so if you were there then thanks for a great evening and hopefully we'll do it again next January.
If you are going to any of the Butlins this Feb there's a good chance you will be seeing the band at one of them cos we've got quite a few in the month (but we do love 'em).
If you live anywhere near Sheffield get yourself to the boardwalk on the 8th Feb for a great nights entertainment with ourselves and support from the Buzztones.
Once again thanks for reading and your support and if you come to a gig pop up and say hello.
Thanks
Mark
xxx

DECEMBER 2007
Hello everyone, Seasons Greetings and Happy New Year to all you Complete Maddie's.

As I mentioned in my last review I told you we were to play The Cavern Club in Liverpool, and we certainly did although and this is only my opinion by the way, I found it a bit disappointing, not just because there were only about 40 tickets sold but because the whole thing seemed to be a bit disorganized from the moment we arrived. If you've ever seen pictures of The Cavern you'll probably remember the arch bit where The Beatles always performed, well we were in a room just at the side of that which was quite small, had a great stage and excellent PA system but just didn't feel comfortable all night through, but nevertheless it was a great experience to play there. It was also great to see our old drummer Wayne (Curly) Richardson who had a journey out with us to Liverpool.
Did quite a few Butlins gigs as we always seem to do in December, none of them being Adult breaks this time, as they were Family breaks which is great to see so many kids singing along to all the Madness tunes even despite not being on stage whilst as late as 11pm a lot of the time, but it's great to see so many people stick around to see the band. We are back at Butlins again in February to do some more Family & Adult breaks so make sure you catch one of the shows if you can.
We did a few WMC's, one being Bentley West End in Doncaster, a bit small, but a great little club that's been well refurbished and would be nice to go back to later in 2008. The other was Crookes WMC in Sheffield, it's been 10 years since we were last there, this was a Ska night organized by Dave (Ex Gutterband Drummer) Who now runs the Sheffield Mercury Newspaper, and the gig was ace with over 300 people turning up to see the band and it was nice to see our old mate and best comedian on the club circuit Jimmy Carol who did an hour set just before us. He had everyone in stitches apart from one guy who had no sense of humour and threatened to glass jimmy and was rightly removed from the venue which was for the best Because people were queuing up to give him a good hiding.
All the band have been suffering this month with the cold bug which seems to be sweeping its way through the Country and as I'm writing this my little boy is in bed with the damn thing and has knocked him for six, it really is heart breaking to watch him suffer (I'm a big softie).
I hope I can clarify one thing for people who do pay their hard earned money watch the band, we haven't really put our fee up that much in the last few years especially locally and yet venue's that were charging maybe £4 a few years ago are now charging double the entrance fee. May I assure you that the price venues charge has nothing at all to do with the band whatsoever and even myself cannot begin to understand why prices have doubled in some venues, so please don't give me a hard time.
We've got a weeks holiday from the 1st Jan and start back on 11th at Bradford, also a couple of theatre shows in January at Swindon and Rotherham performing our Ska Insania Show.
Just a mention that our show at the Woolpack in Doncaster on the 25th Jan is now cancelled and we will be in our local village at Mill Lane WMC in South Kirkby on that day with a small charge on the door (but very reasonable).
Well all that remains is for me to say have a great 2008 and once again thanks for terrific support during 2007 and long may it continue.
Many Thanks
Mark xxx



NOVEMBER 2007

Hello everyone and thanks for clicking onto this page for a quick review of November. As I mentioned in my last news letter we had 2 weeks hols at the start of the month which was quite welcome. CJ jetted off to America for a fortnight and I managed to get a cheap week in Portugal. Our new drummer Jeff Thompson stared on the 21st of the month and has settled in very well indeed. Derek has been having major problems with his leg over the last 6 weeks or so and has had to have an MRI scan and as of yet is still awaiting the results, but is on the mend slowly, I just put it down to old age personally.
During our holidays Derek went to Sheffield to see a band at Belle House Isle WMC, now it seems every time we get a new band member that there is always rumours circulating that we are splitting up. People were approaching Derek saying "so and so says you're calling it a day", we know who this so and so is but are not going to name names and it's not the 1st time this has happened. So unless you read it on this web site nothing could be further from the truth and the band will continue to go from strength to strength.
Only 10 gigs this month due to our holidays but there were some crackers especially the 80's madness weekend at Bognor on 23rd. I'm sure the dance floor is gonna collapse soon it really was that jumping. As I'm writing this we are on our way to do a Skool Reunion weekend at Bognor and I'm sure that that'll be the same. Our drummer Jeff did his 1st Theatre on only his 3rd gig and if I'm honest and he's honest he was bricking it but did a professional job at the Princess Theatre in Torquay. One WMC to mention is Belle Isle in Leeds which was jumping for the 4th consecutive year even though England lost to Croatia. Some really interesting gigs coming up in December, The Cavern in Liverpool being one of them and I will let you know about that next month. I'm going to see The Dammed 3 times in December, yes I know what you're gonna say; how sad is he but hey it works for me.
Speak soon
Mark
x

OCTOBER 2007
Hiya Folks and thanks for reading my monthly News Bulletin about what's been happening in October. Once again just to mention that after the 3rd November our Drummer Brett will be leaving to pursue his career in Drum Tuition, but hopes to join a semi pro band just to do the odd gig here and there, it will be sad to see him go after 6 years with us, we all wish him the best for the future, and I'm sure we'll be meeting up for a few beers every now and then.
I've got to say October has been one of the best months for enjoyable gigs. The Grand at Clapham was the first in october, a great live music venue with a great sound system but it's a shame it's not getting the people in for the tribute nights and it looks like it will be stopping, but we still enjoyed it nevertheless. We did 3 Theatres this month, Peterborough, Bedworth, and Ipswich, all being enjoyable but probably Bedworth was the pick of the 3 and it was great to see so many families there.
We've had a run of Butlins Minehead gigs on Sundays through September and October and was nice to see so many people stopping behind to watch the show especially going on at 10.30pm .
We've done 4 Social and WMC in October and normally I would have a moan at at least one of them, Newton Aycliffr, Harlepool Quiots Club, Skellow Grange, and Horsford Social, but not this time they were all full, and a special mention to Hartlepool for getting all the Nutty gear out once again and really knowing how to party.
We had our reservations when we turned up at a venue in Grantham called K-PASSA, a very small place and we only just managed to get our gear on a small stage, but once again we were amazed, it was buzzing and would defiantly recommend it to anyone wanting to watch a tribute band in an atmospheric venue.
I've saved the best till last, that being Butlins 80's weekend at Skeggy on 7th October. Now I know we always say we enjoy these cos of the atmosphere but this was totally manic for our sets, yes two set that night, one of Madness and the other of Ska, Two-Tone, and Mod Tracks, I've haven't seen a venue jumpin that much for a long time, poor Limahl who was in the other room must have wondered where the hell everyone went. Thanks everyone who attended the gig for making me lose 3 pound in weight in 90 minutes.
We've got 2 weeks off at the start of November, CJ is jetting off to Florida for a big family gathering which he's had planned for over 2 years, I'm off to Portugal for a week to try and recharge the batteries.
Next time we speak our new Drummer Jeff Thompson will be well into his gigs and hopefully the changeover will be smooth.
Thanks for reading and all the kind messages that have been sent on the forum.

Cheers
Mark
x


SEPTEMBER 2007
Hi everyone and thanks for clicking onto the news page for a quick review of September and any news we may have. First of all a bit of sad news and that is that our drummer Brett has decided to leave the band at the end of October to concentrate on the teaching side of his career. As much as he still enjoys playing, the touring has taken its toll after nearly 6 years of service with Complete Madness. All the lads in the band give him our best wishes for the future.
Our theatre show has come into play during September and October the pick of which was the Beck Theatre in Hayes and the Octagon Centre in Yeovil, both of which we did the new show SKA INSANIA and was well received at both venues. The other theatre was the White Rock Theatre in Hastings and was also great apart from one guy who decided to bare all during our show which is not really the done thing in these venues, but there's always one.
We did 3 Chicago Rock Cafes in September; Stevenage which really surprised me and really enjoyed, Maidstone which to be honest was a total waste of time (no advertising at all) bearing in mind we can get 300 people paying £12 a time at the Theatre in Maidstone but CRC decide not to advertise, enough said. The other CRC was on the Isle Of Wight and I've always enjoyed this one but for some reason it was totally different and more like a youth club and that venue must have changed its music policy cos some of the stuff the DJ was playing was more suitable for a rave venue (I'm getting old!), now I ain't got a problem with moving with the times but why have a Madness band on when it's full of under 21's and again not one bit of advertising.
We did a private party in the middle of September for a guy called Simon Bebb for his 40th Birthday and boy did he push the boat out, a massive marquee, ourselves, a band called The Performance who did some great material and comedian Johnny Casson plus an Elvis tribute and to top it all a free bar and food. Best thing of all he wants to do it all again next year (No Probs).
Soon be time for a holiday, November to be precise for 2 weeks and I think we are all ready for it cos the batteries are running very low, not had a break since the beginning of June.
For those of you who don't know Madness are doing some dates in December, not sure whether I will make it this year, but for more details log on to www.Madness.co.uk
I'm off now so once again many thanks for reading and all your support
Mark
x
PS. Do we really have to keep wasting Tax payers money keeping Ian Huntley alive?



AUGUST 2007

Hi everyone and welcome to the newsletter about the happenings in August.
Some cracking gigs this month to tell you about. Firstly a working mens club, yes a working mens club, East Bowling Unity Club to be more precise, a venue we had never done before and when we got there we had our usual reservations but hey what an atmosphere, I know the organizer there is splashing the money out to get some decent bands on in the future so if you live in and around Bradford check the venue out.
The gig at Scallywags near Skeggness is always decent but this time it was even better though we didn't go on till midnight which is a pain when you've been there since 5o'clock, but it was worth the wait.
Two excellent Warner's hotels in August, one at Homelacy near Hereford and the other at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, where we had a dep Sax player called John form Leeds whilst Dan was at a wedding in Scotland, he did a fantastic job for us there and at the Beachcomber in Breen the following day, Cheers John nice one.
Did a pub in Sheffield called the Wetherby which we last did about 8 years ago, I always remember it because it's where I discovered the drink Carling Premier, good lord I was hung over that night, but like a lot of places they don't sell it any more, but it was a good gig anyway.
We did our first theatre for a while at The Hall for Cornwall in Turo, a beautiful theatre where we thought we'd be a bit rusty but like they say it was just like riding a bike (with stabilizers) and we strolled through it and it was a great buzz once again. The theatre show will be changing soon to 'Ska Insania', very similar to the old show but with slightly different dialogue and a few different songs, and with one or two different surprises. Got four theatre shows in September so log onto the gig guide and if there's one near you and there's tickets left get your backsides down there and I'll promise you a cracking show.
Went to see the Dammed (again) on the 9th at Holmfirth, a bit disappointed this time mainly because they turned up late and things didn't go according to plan, but we've all been there so I'll give them the benefit this time, so I'm off again in September to Albert Halls in Bolton.
Well once again that's it so thanks for reading and hope to see you all at one of the shows in September.

Mark
xxx

JULY 2007
Hi Nutty people, hope you're fit and well and thanks for tuning in to what will probably be a shortish news letter. You know sometimes you have just a very ordinary average month; well to me July's gigs were just like that, nothing special and nothing particularly bad. I suppose the best gig of the month was at Colchester Castle Park for an open air festival featuring ourselves, Status Clone, and an Abba band called Abba Magic (Yes another Abba Tribute). It was the first time in years we actually opened up the festival which was nice for a change, cos we played to sober people for a change and were finished for 8pm and had the chance to watch the other acts, all in all a very well run festival with an amazing P.A system and fantastic stage and nice to see thousands of people turn up on a nice summers evening.
A couple of other gigs worth a quick mention were the C103 club at Plymouth, a good old fashioned drink venue and even though there were only about 100 people in I would like to have another bash at that one in the future. The other decent gig was at Bodelywydn Castle in North Wales(Warner Hotel), A very mature audience to say the least but a great response which was very moving.
The one gig we did in July which left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth was Wadsley Bridge WMC in Sheffield, now don't get me wrong cos I have a lot of time for the people of Sheffield and have played some great venues there, even Wadsley Bridge has a great concert room and that night 60% of the audience listened and clapped even if they weren't into Madness, but the rest were downright ignorant who were hell bent on giving up grief from the moment we started to loading the equipment in (You can't put that there, that's where I sit! Turn it down , Madness are crap! Do you play any Meatloaf or Abba?). To be honest if had to play at clubs with the mentality of people like that week in and week out I would pack in, it was soul destroying to say the least. Once again just to reiterate The Club itself was great as was the Committee, it was just a minority of the audience who get a kick out of being an arse.
Well I'm off now to get my Goth - Punk clothes out ready for the Damned at Holmfirth on 9th August.
Thanks for Reading
Mark
xxx
P.S. Isn't the clean air Brill.


JUNE 2007
Hi everyone and welcome once again to my short news letter.
Didn't start back gigging until 14th June due to our hols where we all went our separate ways for a fortnight, with myself and Derek the only 2 from the band that went away; myself to Los Cristianos in Tenerife which was very nice but blooming hot, and Derek who went to the tranquil island of Jersey which he tells me was very quiet in fact he says too quiet.
Our first gig back was at Chicago Rock Cafe in Stourbridge, we got there at 6 set up did a sound check then the mixing desk(brand new by the way) packed up so we never actually performed, so apologies to the folk that turned up that evening but as they say the band was unable to perform due to technicalities.
What we didn't want was our firs gig back to be a Theatre show but it was, so we were very rusty and to make things even harder we had a mixing desk we hadn't used before. After 3 hours we managed to find the on/off button, and then a great night was had by all at the Town Hall in Wycombe. Thanks to everyone who turned up making it a very enjoyable evening.
We did a couple of social clubs in June one of them being 40 yards from my house called the Little 'un, a great live music venue but the problem is when you know to many local people the nerves kick in and I always have one too many and then party afterwards followed by a severe hangover the next morning. So I wasn't on my best the night after at Carcfort Village Club, the smell of larger was enough to make me feel a bit queasy.
Alverthorpe WMC was another club in June, now this smelt of being a Country and Western club and the concert sec didn't disappoint because as soon as we walked in to set up he thought he'd let us listen to his best of country and western cd performed by club act, which was great!! But thankfully the club wasn't full of country and western people and again a very enjoyable evening.
Other gigs worth a mention were the Club Tropicana in Chapel St Leonards near Skeggness, a fantastic cabaret club with something happening all the way through the evening and the atmosphere when we went on at 11pm was cracking. Thanks to Colin Massey who paid us to perform at this 50th party down in Yeovil in Harry's Bar which was tiny but very intimate and rowdy if you get my drift.
Well that's just about it again but I'd just like to say after doing 20yrs in clubs, bars, pubs, and other venues it finally here NO SMOKING trust me you cannot take the grin of my face in fact we've got Sunday 1st July off so I'm going out to my local to dance on the tables that used to have ash trays on them and laugh until my testicles ache (I can be like that sometimes you know).
Mark
x

MAY 2007
Hi everyone, hope you are all well, I'm writing this quite early this month with a few gigs still to go because of our holidays which are due to begin in a weeks time.
A gig we've done before at the Manor Pub in Southampton came up again in May and as usual was enjoyable apart from the end of the evening when some psychopath who'd been sectioned said that I was singing about his kids in every song and that he was going to stab me and some of the other boys (nice bloke), eventually I calmed him down and he went merrily on his way; straight to the van where we think he decided to scratch it from one end to the other (7.5metres) with some keys. We reported the incident to the police next morning but unless we have any cctv evidence we're shafted, Oh well.
Did a Hotel in Grays called Orset Hall earlier in the month at £42 a ticket, a bit expensive I hear you say, but for that you got entertainment, a 3 course meal and wait for it..... a free bar, not bad eh! Then we heard that 2 weeks later the venue burned down but I've yet to have that confirmed, (great gig though).
We hired a venue called The Boardwalk in Sheffield this month, we thought we were gonna have a terrible night when the support band and DJ dropped out and we'd only sold 70 tickets, but we managed to do the whole night on our own and another 100 people paid on the night ( trying to organize it again for January).
Gotta say a big Thanx to Ian from Spparrow Farm Club in Feltham for taking the gamble and booking the band out of his own pocket, it was a great night Ian and Thanks for you hospitality, really glad you made some brass out of the gig (our fee is going up next time! - only joking).
Our young Dep Drummer did the gig at Feltham and was superb again, let himself down a bit by throwing up in the van coming home from minehead, only blessing was it was on CJ and not me (Oh well we were all young once).
Did the theatre show at Minehead Butlins for the first time and despite reservations it worked quite well for an adult break, although they weren't really bothered about the dialogue between tracks, just wanted to dance and get drunk.
Well we've nearly finished now ready for our 2 week break, and we really do need it, we're all knackered and if truth be know we need a break from each other.
Once again thanks for all the support and to say we are only a tribute band it really is overwhelming.
Speak soon
Mark
xxx

APRIL 2007
Hi Everyone and welcome to my quick review of April. First of all apologies are in order for anyone who turned up at the Chicago Rock Cafe on Isle of Wight on the 18th when we didn't show due to me having a terrible chest infection and losing my voice as those who turned up at the gig in chichester will testify. I tried to do the gig at but after 20mins it was a lost cause, so we had to finish, but thanks for the sympathy and support at chichester, it's a shame that the venue have decided to stop having live bands on as we've had some great times there. The following day we were at Bognor for the 80's weekend and boy it was manic although I was very apprehensive as to whether I'd get through at least 45 min's but I did with the help of a few instrumentals, once again thanks to everyone that night for making it special.
The following night (21st) we were at a pub called Moonrakers, We're always wary about doing pubs but this was a massive one with a great function room at the back and all 350 tickets were sold even though it only holds 300(it was rather busy), fantastic night though and my throat held out for an hour.
Other gigs worth a mention were the Rhodes Centre(Theatre) in Bishops Stortford, thanks to everyone for paying your money to see the theatre show. West Melton WMC was a great night but must be the smokiest WMC around, probably got my chest infection there. The Adult break at Vauxhall Holiday Park was very enjoyable although I think Shalamar were a bit out of place with a Blondie, Jam and Madness tribute band all on at the same bill. We did 5 Holiday parks as well in april mainly in Yarmouth and Caister and they were surprisingly very enjoyable.
If anyone has booked for the Skool reunion weekend at minehead in May you will have the pleasure of seeing our 2hr Theatre show but not sure yet whether it'll be afternoon of evening.
On a sad note I was gutted really to see Leeds United FC Slide into the Third tier of English football for the first time in their history, even though I'm not really a Leeds fan as some people think (Derek the Guitarist is though), I really do hope someone buys this great club and re-awakens this sleeping giant. (well done Barnsley FC).
Anyway have a great month and get yourself down to a gig near you in May cos chances are there will be one.
Cheers Mark
xxx

Many T



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